Human Geography: Unit 5

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the birthplaces of the agricultural revolution; the places where agriculture began

agriculture

the deliberate tending of crops and livestock in order to produce food and fiber

biotechnology

the use of genetically altered crops in agriculture and DNA manipulation in livestock in order to increase production

cereal grains

oats, wheat, rye, or barley

Columbian Exchange

began in the late 15th and 16th century, when products were carried both ways across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

commercial agriculture

the production of food surpluses, with most crops destined for sale to people outside the farmer's family

desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture

dispersed settlement pattern

when individual farmhouses lie quite far apart

enclosure

fencing or hedging large blocks of land (including "common" areas previously shared by all) for experiments with new techniques of farming

erosion

The gradual destruction of something by physical or chemical action

extensive subsistence agriculture

involves large areas of land and minimal labor per land unit

extensive agriculture

when land is farmed in larger units

Green Revolution

involved 2 important practices: the use of new higher yield seeds and the expanded use of fertilizers

hamlets, villages

small clusters of buildings, or in slightly larger settlements

horticulture

the growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers

hunters and gatherers

the first humans who captured and killed animals and learned which plants and fruits were edible and nutritious

industrial agriculture

current stage of commercial agriculture resulting from the shift of the farm as the center of production to a position as just one step in a multiphase industrial process that begins on the farms and ends of the consumer's table

intensive agriculture

Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is an agricultural production system characterized by the high inputs of capital, labour, or heavy usage of technologies such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers relative to land area.

intensive subsistence agriculture

involves the cultivation of small land plots through use of great amounts of labor, and yields per unit and area and populations densities are both high

irrigation

the channeling of water to fields

job specialization

other occupations than farming developed, since fewer people where needed to produce food.

labor intensive agriculture

employs large numbers of people and requires relatively little capital to produce food

location theory

the general but logical attempt to explain how an economic activity is related to the land space where goods are produced

long-lot survey system

divides land into narrow parcels that extend from rivers, roads, or canals

Mediterranean agriculture

exists not only in the lands that border the Mediterranean Sea, but also in California, central Chile, the southwestern part of South Africa, and southwestern Australia.

mercantilism

has private companies under charter from the governments carrying out the trade. main goal was to benefit the mother country by trading goods to accumulate precious metals, and thus enriching the country

metes and bounds

when natural features are used to mark irregular parcels of land

milkshed

a ring of milk production

mixed crop and livestock farming

when farmers grow crops and raise livestock on the same land spread, with most of the crops fed to animals rather than to people

Neolithic Revolution

the first agricultural revolution--the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and settlement.

nomadism

the practice of moving frequently from one place to the other

nucleated settlement pattern

when villages are located quite close together with relatively small surrounding fields

organic agriculture

crops grown without fertilizers and pesticides

pampas

prarie

pastoral nomadism

this alternative to sedentary agriculture is characterized by following the herds, just as the earlier hunters and gatherers did.

patriarchal system

when men hold the power in the family, economy, and government

plantation farming

when people farm in a large farm the specializes in one or two crops

post-industrial societies

a phase of society predominated by a manufacturing-based economy and moves on to a structure of society based on the provision of information, innovation, finance, and services.

primary sector (agriculture)

is the part of the economy that draws raw materials from the natural environment. This sector - agriculture, raising animals, fishing, forestry, and mining - is the largest in low-income, pre-industrial nations.

primogeniture

when all land passes to the eldest son, resulting in land parcels that are large and tended individually

quaternary sector

is often seen as a subset of the tertiary sector. It includes service jobs concerned with research and development, management and administration, and processing and disseminating information

rectangular survey system

encouraged settlers to disperse evenly across interior farmlands. section lines were drawn in grids, often without reference to the terrain

Second Agriculture Revolution

began in Western Europe in the 1600s, which intensified agriculture by promoting higher yields per acre and per farmer

secondary sector (industry)

is the part of the economy that transforms raw materials into manufactured goods. This sector grows quickly as societies industrialize, and includes such operations as refining petroleum into gasoline and turning metals into tools and automobiles.

seed agriculture

the production of plants through annual planting of seeds

seed drill

a machine created by Jethro Tull to more effectively plant seeds

shifting cultivation (swidden agriculture)

"slash and burn" this farming method exists primarily in rain forest zones for Central and South America, West Africa, eastern and central Asia, and much of southern China and Southeast Asia

specialization

the growing of specialized crops becaase they seem to be the most profitable

subsistence agriculture

most prevalent in LDCs, is the production of only enough food to feed the farmer's family, with no surpluses to sell

tertiary sector (services)

is the part of the economy that involves services rather than goods. includes construction, trade, finance, real estate, private services, government, and transportation

Third Agricultural Revolution

began in the mid-20th century and is still going on today in the form of industrial agriculture, modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops

truck farming

commercial gradening and fruit farming is often referred to this because "truck" meant "bartering" in the English language.

vegetative planting

when new plants are produced by direct cloning form existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots.

von Thunen's model

a model for rural land use in the early 19th century. assumed a flat terrain with uniform soils and no significan barriers to transportation to market

wattle

poles and sticks woven tightly together and then covered with mud

wet (lowland)rice

planted on dry land in a nursery and the moved as seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth

winter wheat area, spring wheat area

grain-producing areas in Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma where the crop is planted in the autumn, survives the winter, and ripens the following summer

grain-producing areas in the Dakotas and Montana, where winters are too severe for winter wheat